Expl

ori
ngandl
ear
ningchi
l
d'sdevel
opment
alst
ages

"
Youhavet
olear
ntocr
awlbef
oreyoucanr
un"i
sasayi
ngt
hatyoumayhave

hear
d.Cur
rent
ly,t
hisi
sal
so a known f
actt
o al
lofus.Fr
om an i
nfantt
o an

adol
escentand a young adul
t,a chi
l
d gr
ows pr
ogr
essi
vel
y.Thi
s pr
ocedur
e

i
nvol
vessi
xdi
ff
erentphasesofachi
l
d'sgr
owt
h.Under
standi
ngt
hesephasescan

hel
p you bet
ter compr
ehend how chi
l
dren devel
op bot
h ment
all
y and

physi
cal
l
y.Gr
owt
handdevel
opmenti
ncl
udesnotonl
ythephysi
calchangest
hat

occurf
rom i
nfancyt
oadol
escence,butal
sosomeoft
hechangesi
nemot
ions,

per
sonal
i
ty,behavi
or,t
hinki
ngandspeecht
hatchi
l
drendevel
opast
heybegi
nto

under
standandi
nter
actwi
tht
hewor
ldar
oundt
hem.Ski
l
lssuchast
aki
ngaf
ir
st

st
ep orsmi
l
ing f
ort
he f
ir
stt
ime ar
e cal
l
ed devel
opment
almi
l
est
ones.Chi
l
d

devel
opmentr
efer
sto how yourchi
l
d gr
owsand changesovert
ime.Exper
ts

di
vi
dechi
l
dgr
owt
handdevel
opmenti
ntof
ourar
eas(
cleavel
andcl
i
nic,
2023)
:

•Physi
cal
devel
opmentr
efer
stost
rengt
handphysi
cal
ski
l
ls.

•Cogni
ti
vedevel
opmenti
nvol
vest
hinki
ngandpr
obl
em-sol
vi
ng.

•Languagedevel
opmentr
efer
stocommuni
cat
ionandunder
standi
ng.

An i
ndi
vi
dual
’sdevel
opment
alst
age si
gni
fi
cant
lyi
nfl
uencest
he abi
l
it
yto

l
ear
n.Pedagogy,andr
agogy,and ger
ogogyar
ethr
ee di
ff
erentor
ient
ati
onst
o

l
ear
ning i
n chi
l
dhood, young and mi
ddl
e adul
thood, and ol
der adul
thood
,
respect
ivel
y.To meett
he heal
th-r
elat
ed educat
ionalneeds ofl
ear
ner
s,a

devel
opment
alappr
oach must be used. Thr
ee maj
or st
age-r
ange f
act
ors

associ
ated wi
th l
ear
ner r
eadi
ness—physi
cal
, cogni
ti
ve, and psychosoci
al

mat
urat
ion—mustbet
akeni
ntoaccountateachdevel
opment
alper
iodt
hroughout

t
he l
i
fe cycl
e.The di
ff
erentst
agesofchi
l
dhood ar
e di
vi
ded accor
ding t
o what

devel
opment
alt
heor
ist
sandeducat
ionalpsychol
ogi
stsdef
ineasspeci
fi
cpat
ter
ns

ofbehavi
orseeni
npar
ti
cul
arphasesofgr
owt
handdevel
opment
.

1
stdevel
opment
alst
age:

Thepr
enat
aldevel
opmentoft
hehumanut
eruswi
l
lbepr
esent
edher
epr
imar
il
y

f
rom t
hevi
ewpoi
ntofmor
phol
ogy.I
tshoul
dbeneedl
esst
ost
ress,however
,that

ot
herconsi
der
ati
ons—f
rom t
he f
iel
ds ofbi
ochemi
str
y and endocr
inol
ogy,f
or

exampl
e—ar
eal
sonecessar
yforapr
operunder
standi
ngofut
eri
nedevel
opment
.

Mor
eover
,adevel
opment
alaccountoft
heut
erusnecessi
tat
est
hatat
tent
ionbe

gi
ven t
othe ur
inar
ysyst
em,because “t
he ur
inar
yand r
epr
oduct
ive or
gans…

f
orm ani
nsepar
abl
ewhol
eint
headul
tor
gani
sm” (
Fel
i
x,1
912)ast
heydoal
soi
n

t
heembr
yoandf
etus.

2nddevel
opment
alst
age:

I
nfancy(
Fir
st1
2Mont
hsofLi
fe)andToddl
erhood(
1-2Year
sofAge)

I
nfantandt
oddl
erphysi
caldevel
opmenti
ncl
udest
hephysi
calgr
owt
handmot
or

ski
l
lst
hatoccurdur
ingt
hef
ir
stt
hreeyear
sofl
i
fe.Theseski
l
lsandabi
l
iti
esaf
fect
how achi
l
dint
eract
swi
thot
herpeopl
e,obj
ect
s,andt
heenvi
ronment
.Thi
slesson

wi
l
lfur
therdef
inephysi
caldevel
opmentofi
nfant
sandt
oddl
ers,aswel
lasof
feran

oppor
tuni
tyt
othi
nkaboutt
hei
mpor
tanceofphysi
caldevel
opmentf
ori
nfant
s,

t
oddl
ers,andadul
ts.
Thef
iel
dofgr
owt
handdevel
opmenti
shi
ghl
ycompl
ex,andat

noot
hert
imei
sphysi
cal
,cogni
ti
ve,andpsychosoci
almat
urat
ionsochangeabl
e

as dur
ing t
he ver
y ear
ly year
s ofchi
l
dhood.Because oft
he dependency of

member
soft
hisagegr
oup,t
hemai
nfocusofi
nst
ruct
ionf
orheal
thmai
ntenance

ofchi
l
dreni
sgear
edt
owar
dthepar
ent
s,whoar
econsi
der
edt
obet
hepr
imar
y

l
ear
ner
srat
hert
hant
hever
yyoungchi
l
d(Cr
andel
letal
.,201
2;Pal
fr
eyetal
.,2005;

Sant
rock,201
1).However
,the ol
der t
oddl
er shoul
d notbe excl
uded f
rom

heal
thcar
eteachi
ngandcanpar
ti
cipat
etosomeext
enti
ntheeducat
ionpr
ocess.

Accor
dingt
oEr
ikson(
1963)
,thenot
edaut
hor
it
yonpsychosoci
aldevel
opment
,the

per
iodofi
nfancyi
soneoft
rustver
susmi
str
ust
.Dur
ingt
hist
ime,chi
l
drenmust

wor
kthr
ought
hei
rfi
rstmaj
ordi
l
emmaofdevel
opi
ngasenseoft
rustwi
tht
hei
r

pr
imar
ycar
etaker
.

Teachi
ngst
rat
egi
es:

As an aspi
ri
ng educat
or,we shoul
d gi
ve t
hem assur
ance,Pr
ovi
de physi
cal

saf
etyandemot
ionalsecur
it
y.Ast
hei
nfantmat
uresi
ntot
oddl
erhood,aut
onomy

ver
susshameanddoubtemer
gesast
hecent
rali
ssue.i
tisi
mpor
tantf
orust
o

l
ear
n aboutt
hisaswe ar
e al
so known ast
hei
rsecond mot
herand knowi
ng
t
oodl
ers,t
heyl
oveexpl
oresel
fandenvi
ronment
,theyhavenat
uralcur
iosi
tyt
hat
's

whyweAl
l
ow t
hem t
opl
ayandmani
pul
ati
onofobj
ect
s.Thi
sal
l
owsi
nfant
sand

t
oddl
erst
he abi
l
ityt
ofur
thert
hei
rlear
ning t
hrough expl
orat
ion.Thus,physi
cal

devel
opmentandheal
thcanhel
ppr
epar
einf
ant
sandt
oddl
ersf
oract
ivi
ti
est
hat

suppor
tlanguagedevel
opment
,soci
alski
l
ls,andot
herar
easofl
ear
ning,whi
ch

r
esul
tinl
atersuccessi
nschool
.Atnoot
hert
imei
nli
fei
sphysi
calmat
urat
ionso

r
api
dasdur
ingt
heper
iodofdevel
opmentf
rom i
nfancyt
otoddl
erhood(
London,

Ladewi
g,Bal
l
,Bi
ndl
er,& Cowen,201
1).Expl
orat
ionofsel
fandt
heenvi
ronment

becomespar
amountandst
imul
atesf
urt
herphysi
caldevel
opment(
Crandel
letal
.,

201
2).

3r
ddevel
opment
alst
age:

Ear
lychi
l
dhood(
3-5year
sofage)

Pr
eschoolchi
l
dren’si
dent
it
ybecomescl
ear
er,andt
hei
rwor
ldexpandst
oinvol
ve

ot
her
sout
sideoft
hef
ami
l
y.Chi
l
dreni
nthi
sdevel
opment
alcat
egor
yacqui
renew

behavi
orst
hatgi
vet
hem mor
eindependencef
rom t
hei
rpar
ent
sandal
l
ow t
hem t
o

car
efort
hemsel
ves.Lear
ningdur
ingt
hist
imeper
iodoccur
sthr
oughi
nter
act
ions

wi
thot
her
sandt
hroughmi
micki
ngormodel
i
ngt
hebehavi
orsofpl
aymat
esand

adul
ts(
Crandel
letal
.,201
2;Sant
rock,201
3)
Lear
ningst
rat
egi
es:

ForShor
t-Ter
m Lear
ning:

•Pr
ovi
dephysi
cal
andvi
sual
sti
mul
ibecausel
anguageabi
l
ityi
sst
il
ll
imi
ted.

• Keep t
eachi
ng sessi
ons shor
t(no mor
ethan 1
5 mi
nut
es)and schedul
ed

sequent
ial
l
yatcl
osei
nter
val
ssot
hati
nfor
mat
ioni
snotf
orgot
ten.

•Rel
atei
nfor
mat
ionneedst
oact
ivi
ti
esandexper
iencesf
ami
l
iart
othechi
l
d.

•Encour
aget
hechi
l
dtopar
ti
cipat
ebychoosi
ngt
hei
nst
ruct
ionalmet
hodsand

t
ool
s,such as pl
ayi
ng wi
th dol
l
s orr
eadi
ng a st
ory,whi
ch pr
omot
es act
ive

i
n vol
vementandhel
pst
oest
abl
i
shnur
se–cl
i
entr
appor
t.

•Ar
range smal
l
-gr
oup sessi
onswi
th peer
sas a way t
o make t
eachi
ng l
ess

t
hreat
eni
ngandmor
efun.

• Gi
ve pr
aise and appr
oval
,thr
ough bot
h ver
balexpr
essi
ons and nonver
bal

gest
ures,whi
char
ereal
mot
ivat
orsf
orl
ear
ning.

•Usest
orybookst
ohel
pthechi
l
dident
if
ywi
thpar
ti
cul
arpeopl
eandsi
tuat
ions.

ForLong-Ter
m Lear
ning:

•Enl
i
stt
hehel
pofpar
ent
stober
olemodel
sofheal
thyhabi
ts,suchaspr
act
ici
ng

saf
etymeasur
esandeat
ingabal
anceddi
et.
•Rei
nfor
ceposi
ti
veheal
thbehavi
orsandnewski
l
lsl
ear
ned

4t
hand5t
hdevel
opment
alst
age:

Mi
ddl
eandLat
eChi
l
dhood(
6–1
1Year
sofAge)

I
nmi
ddl
eandl
atechi
l
dhood,chi
l
drenhavepr
ogr
essedi
nthei
rphysi
cal
,cogni
ti
ve,

andpsychosoci
alski
l
lst
othepoi
ntwher
emostbegi
nfor
malt
rai
ningi
nst
ruct
ured

schoolsyst
ems.Theyappr
oachl
ear
ningwi
thexci
tementofwhati
stocome,and

t
hei
rmi
nds ar
e open t
o new and var
ied i
deas.They ar
e mot
ivat
ed t
olear
n

because oft
hei
rnat
uralcur
iosi
ty and t
hei
rdesi
ret
o under
stand mor
e about

t
hemsel
ves,t
hei
rbodi
es,t
heenvi
ronment
,andt
hei
rwor
ld(
Whi
teneretal
.,1
998)
.

Thi
sst
age i
sa per
iod ofgr
eatchange f
ort
hem,when at
ti
tudes,val
ues,and

per
cept
ionsoft
hemsel
ves,t
hei
rsoci
ety,andt
hewor
ldar
eshapedandexpanded

(
Sant
rock,201
3)

Teachi
ngst
rat
egi
es:

Woodr
ing (
2000)emphasi
zes t
he i
mpor
tance off
oll
owi
ng sound educat
ional

pr
inci
pleswi
tht
hechi
l
dandf
ami
l
y,suchasi
dent
if
yingi
ndi
vi
duall
ear
ningst
yles,

det
ermi
ningReadi
nesst
olear
n,andt
aki
ngi
ntoaccountt
hei
rlear
ningneedsand

abi
l
iti
es t
o achi
evedposi
ti
ve heal
th out
comes.Gi
ven t
hei
rincr
eased abi
l
ityt
o

compr
ehendi
nfor
mat
ionand t
hei
rdesi
ref
oract
ivei
nvol
vementandcont
rolof

t
hei
rli
ves.Chi
l
dreni
nmi
ddl
eandl
atechi
l
dhoodar
eusedt
othest
ruct
ured,di
rect
,
and f
ormall
ear
ning i
nthe schoolenvi
ronmentand ar
erecept
ive t
o a si
mil
ar

appr
oach when hospi
tal
i
zed or conf
ined athome.The f
oll
owi
ng t
eachi
ng

st
rat
egi
esar
esuggest
edwhencar
ingf
orchi
l
dreni
nthi
sdevel
opment
alst
ageof

l
i
fe:

ForShor
t-Ter
m Lear
ning

•Teachi
ngsessi
onscanbeext
endedt
olastasl
ongas30mi
nut
eseachbecause

school
-agedchi
l
drenar
ebet
terabl
etof
ocusandr
etai
ninf
ormat
ion.However
,

l
essonsshoul
dbespr
eadapar
ttoal
l
ow f
orcompr
ehensi
onofl
argeamount
sof

cont
entand t
o pr
ovi
de oppor
tuni
tyf
ort
he pr
act
ice ofnewl
y acqui
red ski
l
ls

bet
weensessi
ons.

•Usedi
agr
ams,model
s,pi
ctur
es,di
git
almedi
a,pr
int
edmat
eri
als,andcomput
ers

asadj
unct
stovar
ioust
eachi
ngmet
hods.

•Chooseaudi
ovi
sualandpr
int
edmat
eri
alst
hatshow peer
sunder
goi
ngsi
mil
ar

pr
ocedur
esorf
aci
ngsi
mil
arsi
tuat
ions.

•Pr
ovi
det
imef
orcl
ari
fi
cat
ion,val
i
dat
ion,andr
einf
orcementofwhati
sbei
ng

l
ear
ned.

• Use gr
oup t
eachi
ng sessi
ons wi
th ot
her
s ofsi
mil
arage and wi
th si
mil
ar

pr
ob l
emsorneedst
ohel
pchi
l
drenavoi
dfeel
i
ngsofi
sol
ati
onandt
oassi
stt
hem
i
nident
if
yingwi
tht
hei
rownpeer
s.

•Pr
epar
echi
l
drenf
orpr
ocedur
esandi
nter
vent
ionswel
li
nadvancet
oal
l
ow t
hem

t
ime t
o cope wi
tht
hei
rfeel
i
ngs and f
ear
s,t
o ant
ici
pat
e event
s,and t
o

under st
and whatt
he pur
pose ofeach pr
ocedur
eis,how i
trel
atest
othei
r

condi
ti
on,andhow mucht
imei
twi
l
ltake.

ForLong-Ter
m Lear
ning

• Hel
p school
-aged chi
l
dren acqui
re ski
l
lst
hat t
hey can use t
o assume

r
esponsi
bil
i
tyf
orcar
ryi
ng outt
reat
mentr
egi
mens on an ongoi
ng basi
s wi
th

mi
nimal
assi
stance.

•Assi
stt
hem i
nlear
ningt
omai
ntai
nthei
rownwel
l
-bei
ngandpr
eventi
l
lnesses

f
rom occur
ri
ng.

6t
hdevel
opment
alst
age:

Adol
escence(
12–1
9Year
sofAge)

Adol
escence mar
ks t
he t
ransi
ti
on f
rom chi
l
dhood t
o adul
thood.Dur
ing t
his

pr
olonged and ver
ychange-f
il
led per
iod oft
ime,manyadol
escent
sand t
hei
r

f
ami
l
iesexper
iencemucht
urmoi
l
.How adol
escent
sthi
nkaboutt
hemsel
vesand

t
he wor
ld si
gni
fi
cant
lyi
nfl
uences many heal
thcar
eissues f
aci
ng t
hem,f
rom

anor
exi
atoobesi
ty.Teenaget
houghtandbehavi
orgi
vei
nsi
ghti
ntot
heet
iol
ogyof
some of t
he maj
or heal
th pr
obl
ems of t
his gr
oup of l
ear
ner
s (
Elki
nd,

1
984)
.Adol
escent
sar
eknownt
obeamongt
henat
ion'
smostat
-ri
skpopul
ati
ons

(
Ares,Kuhns,Dogr
a,&Kar
nik,201
5).
Adol
escencei
sat
imef
orgr
owt
hspur
tsand

puber
ty changes.An adol
escentmay gr
ow sever
ali
nches i
n sever
almont
hs

f
oll
owed by a per
iod ofver
y sl
ow gr
owt
h,t
hen have anot
hergr
owt
h spur
t.

Changeswi
thpuber
ty(
sexualmat
urat
ion)mayhappengr
adual
l
yorsever
alsi
gns

may become vi
si
ble att
he same t
ime.Adol
escent
sdemand per
sonalspace,

cont
rol
,pr
ivacy,and conf
ident
ial
i
ty.To t
hem,i
l
lness,i
njur
y,di
sabi
l
ity,and

hospi
tal
i
zat
ionmeandependency,l
ossofi
dent
it
y,achangei
nbodyi
mageand

f
unct
ioni
ng,bodi
l
y embar
rassment
,conf
inement
,and separ
ati
on f
rom peer
s.

Knowl
edgeal
oneofhow t
opr
otectt
hei
rheal
thandpr
eventdi
seaseandi
njur
yis

notenough;t
heyneedcopi
ng ski
l
lsf
orsuccessf
ulcompl
eti
onoft
hisst
ageof

devel
opment(
Grey,Kanner
,&Lacey,1
999)
.

TEACHI
NGSTRATEGI
ES:

Chal
l
engesadol
escent
smi
ghtf
acei
ncl
udechr
oni
cil
l
ness,ar
angeofdi
sabi
l
it
ies

as a r
esul
tofi
njur
y,orpsychol
ogi
calpr
obl
ems as a r
esul
tofdepr
essi
on or

physi
caland/
oremot
ionalmal
tr
eat
ment
.Inaddi
ti
on,adol
escent
sar
econsi
der
ed

athi
ghr
iskf
ort
eenpr
egnancy,t
heef
fect
sofpover
ty,dr
ugoral
coholabuse,and

sexual
l
ytr
ansmi
tt
ed di
s eases.Thet
hreel
eadi
ng causesofdeat
hint
hisage

gr
oup ar
eacci
dent
s,homi
cide,and sui
cide(
Kochanek,Xu,Mur
phy,Mi
nino,&
Kung,201
1;Londonetal
.,201
3)Theeducat
ionalneedsofadol
escent
sar
ebr
oad

andvar
ied.Heal
thyt
eenshavedi
ff
icul
tyi
magi
ningt
hemsel
vesassi
ckori
njur
ed.

Thosewi
thani
l
lnessordi
sabi
l
ityof
tencompl
ypoor
lywi
thmedi
calr
egi
mensand

cont
inuet
oindul
gei
nri
sk-t
aki
ngbehavi
ors.Becauseoft
hei
rpr
eoccupat
ionwi
th

bodyi
mageandf
unct
ioni
ngandt
heper
cei
vedi
mpor
tanceofpeeraccept
ance

andsuppor
t,t
heyvi
ew heal
thr
ecommendat
ionsasat
hreatt
othei
raut
onomyand

senseofcont
rol
.

Some exper
tsuse chi
l
d devel
opmentcheckl
i
stst
o measur
e yourchi
l
d’s

pr
ogr
essi
on.Chi
l
drengr
ow andmeetmi
l
est
onesatt
hei
rownpace,butcheckl
i
sts

canpr
ovi
deagui
del
i
nef
ort
ypi
calgr
owt
handdevel
opmentI
t'
simpor
tantnott
o

usedevel
opment
alcheckl
i
stsasdi
agnost
ict
ool
s.I
nst
ead,i
fyourchi
l
dhasnotmet

adevel
opment
almi
l
est
one,t
hisi
nfor
mat
ioni
sacl
uet
hati
t'
sti
met
otal
ktoa

heal
thcar
epr
ovi
der
.Aspeci
ali
stmaybeabl
etoof
fermor
edet
ail
edassessment
s

ofyourchi
l
d'spar
ti
cul
ardevel
opment
(cl
eavel
andcl
i
nic,2023)
.Thest
udyofchi
l
d

devel
opmenti
simpor
tantbecause i
tal
l
ows us t
o under
stand t
he cogni
ti
ve,

emot
ional
,physi
cal
,soci
al,andeducat
ionalgr
owt
hthatchi
l
drengot
hroughf
rom

bi
rt
h and i
nto ear
ly adul
thood.I
tal
so al
l
ows us t
olear
n aboutt
he di
ff
erent

mi
l
est
onest
hatchi
l
drenar
eexpect
edt
omeetast
heygetol
der
.Chi
l
ddevel
opment

r
efer
sto al
lthe mi
l
est
ones t
hatexper
ts expectchi
l
dren t
o meetby cer
tai
n
ages.
Thesemi
l
est
onesi
ncl
udehow chi
l
drengr
ow physi
cal
l
yanddevel
opsoci
all
y,

emot
ional
l
yandment
all
y(cl
eavel
andcl
i
nic,
2023)
.

Ref
erences:

9500Eucl
i
dAvenue,Cl
evel
and,Ohi
o441
95|800.
223.
2273|© 2023Cl
evel
and

Cl
i
nic

Fel
i
x,W.
,191
2,Thedevel
opmentoft
heur
inogeni
talor
gans,i
n:ManualofHuman

Embr
yol
ogy(
F.Kei
beland F.P.Mal
l
,eds.
),pp.752–979,Vol
.2,Li
ppi
ncot
t,

Phi
l
adel
phi
a.

London,Ladewi
g,Bal
l
,Bi
ndl
er,&Cowen,201
1.Mat
ernal
andnur
singcar
e vol
ume1
&2

Crandel
letal
.,201
2;Pal
fr
eyetal
.,2005;Sant
rock,201
1.devel
opment
alst
agesoft
he
l
earner.

sampl
es.
jbpub.
com

Abu-Suwa,H.,Lashl
ey,L.K.
,Gol
den,C.J.(
2020)
.Pr
enat
alDevel
opment
.Essaysi
n
Devel
opmental

htt
ps://
www. hopki
nsmedici
ne.
or g/
heal
th/
well
ness-and-prevent
ion/
the-growi
ng-chi
l
d-
adolescent-1
3-t
o-18-
years#:~:
text
=Adol
escence%20is%20a%20ti
me%20f or,
visi
ble%20at
%20t he%20same%2
0ti
me.

ki
dsense@chi
l
ddevel
opment
.com.
au

ht
tps:
//www.
vir
tual
l
abschool
.or
g/i
nfant
-toddl
er/
physi
cal
-devel
opment
/l
esson-1
#pr
evi
ous

Spi
ri
tual
i
tyandchi
l
ddevel
opment
:Aconceptanal
ysi
s

JoannaSmi
th,Wi
l
fredMcSher
ryJour
nal
ofadvancednur
sing45(
3),307-31
5,2004